SOUTH BEND, Ind. — A pair of Hannah Hidalgo free throws had just given Notre Dame its first lead of the game. The Purcell Pavilion scoreboard read “Duke 11 - 12 Notre Dame,” and the Fighting Irish crowd, decked out in green and gold, awoke. Its energy, which had been stymied by the Blue Devils’ fast start, was at last beginning to rise.
The shot clock had fallen under 10, and the Duke offense looked uncertain and indecisive for the first time in the contest. With six seconds left, Taina Mair, far beyond the three-point line, fired a pass to fellow guard Reigan Richardson. But Richardson, needing only a moment to realize the Blue Devils’ best scoring opportunity was elsewhere, sent the ball back to Mair, still at the logo.
Mair wasn’t phased. As if she stood inches, not feet, away from the arc, the Boston native launched a three that nearly touched the rafters. Both teams jostled for position to grab the rebound, but neither had a chance: Mair’s shot ripped through the net without even touching the rim. 14-12 Duke.
While an audible reaction of shock reverberated throughout the arena, Mair sprinted back on defense, already onto the next possession. In the first quarter, which proved to be the Blue Devils’ most complete, the junior guard powered Duke’s offensive attack, recording nine points and an assist on 4-of-4 shooting from the field.
Against the No. 1 team in the nation, Mair had given 11th-ranked Duke its best shot at an upset.
“I was really pleased with how she played,” head coach Kara Lawson said after the game. “How much it mattered to her, how she competed — she's capable of having big nights. And certainly in the first quarter, she was getting open shots, and she was knocking them down.”
Duke ultimately gave up the game in a 64-49 loss to the hosts. These Blue Devils won’t become more dynamic overnight; that’s simply not who they are. Being physical and outhustling their opponents is easy to pinpoint as their identity, and it’s also what best suits their roster construction. Still, Mair’s performance in Monday’s contest showed what happens when Duke shakes things up. A change in pace is necessary for Lawson’s team to keep opposing defenses off balance — especially disciplined, well-coached groups like the Fighting Irish.
Mair finished the game with 15 points, one rebound and two assists — her highest scoring mark since Feb. 3 at N.C. State. And though the Brooks School product could not maintain her hot shooting through the whole contest, her defense and ball-handling made her an impactful player every moment she was out on the floor.
On a squad full of long, athletic guard-wings — from Ashlon Jackson to Toby Fournier — Mair adds a unique wrinkle to Lawson’s regular rotation. While she won’t physically overpower opponents like Fournier or rip away offensive rebounds like Oluchi Okananwa, Mair is far and away the Blue Devil with the greatest agility and ability to blow by defenders. When the offense stagnates, particularly in the half court as Duke has been prone to do, Mair needs to be at her most aggressive.
However, in her second season in Durham and third season playing college basketball, the point guard has perhaps been asked to do less than ever before. Despite colossal improvements in efficiency — a 6.9% increase in field-goal percentage and a 12.1% increase from deep compared to 2023-24 — Mair has seen decreases in her averages across the board. Her career highs in points, rebounds and assists remain from her freshman year at Boston College. So what’s changed?
Put simply, Mair’s role, and therefore her responsibilities, have changed throughout her time at the collegiate level. As an Eagle, Mair was tasked with buoying a much weaker roster, and last season, a season-ending injury to Vanessa de Jesus made Mair the Blue Devils’ primary point guard. Make no mistake — given Duke’s plethora of talent, the junior still plays more than most others on the team. Yet when the guard is out on the court, she’s no longer looking for her shot quite as much, but rather operating in a more facilitating capacity.
And so, as Hidalgo and her backcourt-mate Olivia Miles regularly created open shots for not only themselves but also their teammates by cracking the Blue Devil defense off the dribble, Duke had no response on either end of the floor. Notre Dame’s 22-1 third-quarter run ultimately sank the No. 11 squad in the country, a sequence that exemplified the Blue Devils’ inability to create easy, high-quality looks.
Giving Mair an expanded role may not, and probably won’t, solve everything. But if she can make the Blue Devil offense a little more unpredictable, a little more dangerous, it will almost assuredly be worth it.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Sign up for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.